NEW YORK: In a first-of-its kind endeavor, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is attempting to create engineered organisms to make the Red Planet, Mars more Earth-like.
According to reports from Vice Motherboard, the project aims to ‘terraform’ Mars, that is, heat up and potentially thicken Mars’ atmosphere by planting and growing green, photosynthesizing plants, bacteria and algae on the barren landscape. All this, in a bid to make Mars more Earth-like.
Presently, the Red Planet harbors temperatures close to -122 degrees Fahrenheit, owing to being away from the sun. The planet is also frequented by dust storms, has thin atmosphere and low gravity. For outdoor activities to take place, the planet’s climate and surface would need to undergo drastic changes. The DARPA is attempting to do just that! It feels the slow processes it is running on the planet, will gradually transform into something closer to Earth.
